Note: Answers from Page Plus Cellular are paraphrased. Representatives for Page Plus asked us to not record the interview.

Page Plus today responded to the widespread concerns and complaints from consumers regarding many recent issues. Read more to see their side of the story.

Page Plus initially expressed anger at PhoneNews.com for “relying on online forums” for collaborating our report, and not contacting the company properly.

Even faced with stated apologizes from Page Plus leaders at the show, Executive Vice President Yassine Yassine continued to express frustration that PhoneNews.com did not wait until CTIA to run its report. We addressed each of these concerns and disagreed completely with his opinion that we did not take our due diligence in researching and attempting to reach media contacts for the company. Mr. Yassine dismissed our initial article as lacking any merit. Mr. Yassine did admit that Page Plus’s web site, and customer contact numbers lack any delegation or direction to a formal media contact.

In regards to unlimited plan removals, Mr. Yassine insisted that all customers affected by this are notified by text messages, refuting claims from several customers that they did not receive any text message. Further, he argued that Page Plus validates confirmation of receipt of each and every text message. At that point, customers have been moved from unlimited plans to pay as you go service.

Despite reports of users speaking with customer service, Mr. Yassine argued that no customer is forced off of Page Plus, and that they can sign up for any of the company’s other plans, including the $29.99 1200 minute “Talk and Text” plan.

The boundaries for the plan were not available, as they are based on “behavior usage patterns”, which can be triggered from brief periods, and can also be based on intra-day usage of Page Plus service. Mr. Yassine argued that these are no different from the policies that other carriers and MVNOs use, and that they can be based on call duration, number of calls, use of three-way calling, and other factors.

Many customers have expressed frustration that no customer can seek redress with a supervisor, or anyone with power to reverse the decision forcing them off of the unlimited plan. Mr. Yassine argued that he “is not in the business of being nice” and that since the decision has been made and is final, that customers would not be able to speak with any decision-maker in regards to reversing the decision. He argued that the patterns can be reviewed by customer service, and if they do not see the concern, that they can escalate these cases on their own if they see a potential error.

Even if the usage is not abusive, Mr. Yassine argued that Page Plus still has the right to consider it abusive. Because of this, he argued, customers are entitled to no pro-rated refund of the unused service.

Mr. Yassine was not aware of any customer losing a number because of these, or other account changes, though customers have reported these issues in FCC complaint filings. Mr. Yassine did welcome us to forward these customers to him so that he could intervene if this issue was ongoing. If you have been affected by this issue, please contact us and we will forward your information to Page Plus for resolving it.

In regards to the blocking of Palm, HTC, and RIM BlackBerry devices, Mr. Yassine addressed the confusion with some reasons that have been provided. Mr. Yassine confirmed that Palm and other devices have activation issues which prompted them to require re-approval with parent network operator Verizon Wireless. Page Plus has said that they hope to release Palm devices quickly. Because HTC ESN-based (not MEID-based) devices share the same prefix as Palm, they too are blocked until the issue with Palm ESN-based devices is resolved.

Other representatives confirmed that Page Plus is in negotiations with RIM to secure a formal BIS license, which Page Plus lacked when activating BlackBerry devices initially. A BIS license from the parent operator does not transfer to the MVNO, requiring Page Plus to secure their own license and pricing policies before allowing BlackBerry devices to be activated again.

Similarly, representatives confirmed prepaid devices from Verizon are blocked because Page Plus does not have a way to determine which Verizon prepaid phones have met the “6 month rule”, the term for which Verizon requires before unlocking prepaid devices for use on Verizon proper or its MVNOs.

Finally, Mr. Yassine addressed the notion which some commented on in our previous article; that Page Plus was telling customers that powered-off phones continued to use data. Mr. Yassine stated that this is actually a problem with Verizon’s network, where the NOC (Network Operations Center) continues to log data usage periods even after the phone is turned off. It is not clear at this time if that is simply lagged data billing for data which was previously used, or if the charges are erroneous. Page Plus must rely on Verizon’s network logs to determine billing, which is why Page Plus encouraged customers to remove the battery from their phones to ensure that they were properly powered off, but Mr. Yassine did agree that this was not communicated properly to customers in-depth.

Christopher Price is the Founding Editor of PhoneNews.com. Today, he leads the team building iConsole.tv - a new kind of Android™ device. He still likes to pontificate... a lot. You can visit his personal blog at ChristopherPrice.net.

I just signed up with Page Plus. After reading this website I have decided to port my number out to T-Mobile. I do not want to wonder If my number will be shut off after making a phone call. I guess unlimited service is not unlimited service in PagePlus’s world The CEO needs to move back to his 3rd world country!

I just have the “Standard Plan” which uses minutes I have to reload every 120 days. So far I am very, very pleased with PagePlus. It is going to save me so much money now that I don’t have a stupid contract from Verizon. I’m curious though, what did you guys do that got you bumped from the unlimited plan? I know some of you say “we just used it”. Can you be more specific? Did PP say you used excessive amounts of minutes or texting?

Phil you know I have had a couple of “Standard Plan” lines with Page Plus for years and likewise am pleased. One was started with a marvelous “trade in” offer they had long ago — I sent them a pile of garbage Virgin Mobile and they fixed me up. That was then though and all this stuff is worrisome. If you have a number you care about I would seriously consider porting it out so as not to be in the fallout zone.

It appears that all of the complaints involve the purported unlimited plan, a plan that has secret conditions that amount to limits on “unlimited.” Conditions that we gringos expect to be clearly stipulated. The company appears to have absolutely no intent to make good on what they offer, and they appear to be rather arrogant about ripping customers, seemingly without recourse. Evil and lies in the telco industry are not uncommon, but this one is a real stinker. Looks like they are headed for destruction under wheels of justice. It is a shame.

tszefr
Even though, I am not defending page plus. It has seemed nobody been kicked of the 1200 T&T or Standard pay as you go plan. Why would you want some one to leave pageplus that on the 1200 T&T or the Standard plan? Even if the the AG shuts down page plus. Current customers will be transfered to either verizon prepaid or another mvno will take over. There is conflicting information. From what some people say, you not kicked off page plus, you just reduce to the standard rate plan but you are suppose to be pro-rated what you paid into it. The pro-rated is what the AG is concerned about-according to a third party report.

You could be right that in the event doomsday happened, users could be transferred. What makes me really worried is the suddenness with which most recent Page Plus events have happened and the lack of communication. Not just kicking of users but banning of various phones that were previously good but suddenly no good.

Even Cingular when they were shooting down TDMA did not behave in such an out of control manner; taking money without providing service is virtually unheard of. Now we have war stories of victims who lost their paid-for service, cannot get it fixed, and cannot get compensation even though they can port out.

What I am saying is that it is not the best environment if you require stability. Since my lines are discretionary and I like the price and the service, I am sticking. It would not cause me serious issues if they just ceased to exist so I can just enjoy the ride.

If people want to port out from the other plans, I would wait tell about a week before their plan expire 30 days for the 1200 T&T or 120 days for the standard plan before porting out. This way pageplus does make more money.

In my opinion the banning of the prepaid phone was done incorrectly by verizon. The package says six month not forever.

[…] not say that the changes were in any way related to the groundswell of complaints that led to the controversial interview with PhoneNews.com at CTIA this year. Some have speculated that this change was made in order to […]

i opened a plan with pageplus were they promised 1200 mins for 30 dollars, instead of geting what they promised the phone was cut in the midle of the first mont, causeit was charging by the minute, after talking with a representant she fixed it, the second month: i made the payment in advance of the date i was supposed too, and their system”swallowed the money in” making it disapear, and the phone was cutted off again, after contacting another representant(a woman in spanish this time” she started behaving like a real pig shouthing twice that nothing could be done and after that she hanged the phone, they later gave an explanation by email that cover why i lost the money, they say that i couldnt pay in advance, hoewer when i wen to make the payment, their seller was so glat to take the money and he didnt warned me to dont do it, it was their responsability, hoewer the pageplus policy, dont give the credit back to the customer, cheating them so, also when i asked them to get my account closed, they say that a minimum of 30 dollars is required, that is another trick, the owner of page plus has to be a real dirty person if he or she is who dictates policies like that. WARNING TO EVERYONE: STAY AWAY FROM PAGEPLUS

Greg Patrick (and all others), yes, the price for the unlimited plan is going up on May 18th, 2010 – bot my text April 27, 2010 at 11:37PM. I had been with PPC for many months now without issue, but in the past week or so, I’m getting more and more dropped calls, and many times I get the message that the number I’ve dialed is disconnected or no longer in service. A total hassle factor.

But, you would think if anyone would get booted from their unlimited plan, it would be me. I’m a VERY heavy user. I’m talking about 4,000 minutes a month (or at least I was on Verizon before I went to PPC), and I’m texting a couple thousand texts a month as well (inbound and outbound). You would think if they were going to boot anyone it would be me.

Regardless, I’ve not needed data before now, but I’m about to start needing data, so the price increase to $44.95 is enough for me to make the jump to StraightTalk. Plus, Yaseim’s remarks are enough to drive me away. I am the customer and if they’re not nice to me, I’ll just leave. That’s my prerogative as a paying customer.

Well yesterday, I just got a letter from the BBB saying they met with reps from Page Plus on April 26th and Page Plus agreed to make their ads clearer regarding the UT&T plan. Because of this meeting, they have closed my case and said that Page Plus has done what they can to resolve my issue.

Hmmm…I paid $80 in 2 weeks to cut my phone back on, it was subsequently cut off again, and now it is completely out of commission being that I can’t even turn my phone on to the Standard Plan-Page Plus knocked my phone offline after my complaints to the BBB, FCC, AG and numerous news outlets. I just would like to know who Page Plus is f_cking or paying off in the BBB to give me the report they did. Resolved? HAH!

I filled out the form and was contacted by law firm Morgan & Morgan of Florida less than an hour later. I was told to keep my phone as evidence. I hope Page Plus gets the pants sued off of them. Mr. Yassine, thank you for not being in the business of being nice and taking the last few dollars of a single mom who is looking for work and needed a working phone for potential employers to contact her…give yourself a big pat on the back, why don’t ya?

Dionne, I would also contact Ohio Attorney General, the BBB just sent me a response from Page Plus and when I disagreed with it they just closed my case I only lost $39.95 + $6.00 I had as a balance but I’m like you I want something done about Page Plus too they owe us at min our money back, plus the cost of our phones at full retail value too.

Well I almost signed up for new service with Page Plus Cellular just today until I thought to myself ”maybe I should research this company before I go forward.” I am VERY glad that I did research this because I was about to cancel my Verizon contract to go with Page Plus and I also had ALOT of friends/family convinced to do the same but I will be contacting ALL of them and tell them not to go to Page Plus. So, Mr. Yassine, if your not in the business to be nice (which means your not in business to have good customer service) Then me and all my friends/family are not in business to be nice to you and sign up with your crap service (which equals lost business for you and more people spreading the word to stay away from your service) So this little attitude of your not in business to be nice will eventually equal the death of your company and service, its just a matter of time. The customer is always right, maybe you should also be in bussiness to use your brain, which you obviously dont.

Thatnk you for this article and warnings. I was going to join PagePlus with the standard $10-$25 plan. I certainly will not after reading how awful PP treats their paying customers. ” Not in the bussiness of being nice” wow :0

[…] I called that phone number every few days for a month.Â The slaves always need a couple more days but they’ll get me fixed up right they promise.Â A couple of days ago I informed a surprisingly timid specimen of slave, at the top of round one, that this call was being recorded for quality assurance purposes.Â She scuttled off to ask someone if that was OK and came back wanting to know whether I was a PagePlus customer.Â I didn’t know how to answer that, because I am a PagePlus victim and there are lots of us. […]

That just happened to us. I’m in the business of customer service and NEVER would I tell someone I’m not in the business of being nice. Much less a Vice President of a company saying something like that??? They just screwed us telling us that we over over the data usage, but sure enough when I called to replenish, never mentioned that the money I was paying would go towards that over usage. They just told us that we were paid up until the following month. Imagine that….thievery at it’s best.

Well I finally got shafted by PP on one of my phones. I set up an account for one of my guys that works for me on the $29.95 a month (1,200 minute) plan and everything rocked along for several months without issue. Then, about two or three months ago, I renewed (online as always before) buying the $29.95 – 1200 minute plan. In about ten days, he let me know that his phone had been shut off (I checked the online records, and he had used just over 300 minutes since I renewed him). I contacted the company, stayed on the phone with them for over an hour, and they finally said they would get it straightened out. They then reset the plan to the 1,200 minute plan and changed his contract date from the 26th to the 8th. About 10 days later, he let me know that his phone was off again. I checked the online records and he had used 287 minutes. I called again and got a different story – some hogwash about him being on a pay per minute plan – even though I had clearly paid for (and printed the online receipt page) for the 1,200 minute plan. This time, they would do nothing and he’s been on the pay per minute plan. While that plan is still less expensive than he was paying for AT&T before, it’s still costing more than the $29.95/1,200 minute plan he was supposed to have. He only needs voice (doesn’t text or do web stuff), but it was still a really great deal.

My daughter has already left PP for Straight talk, and my wife had to go to the unlimited plan with PP just to reactivate her plan last month. If they no longer want to sell the $29.95 plan, then why don’t they just eliminate it from their offering – it’s not like we have a contract with them. This deal of getting 17 different stories when we call is makes me suspicious of them on every front. I’m looking for my unlimited plan to be shut off any minute because I really use the minutes and texts.

The pin problem shouldn’t happen anymore. They are starting what is called stackable pins. So, when you buy a t&t or unt&t plan earlier, it will not be applied to your account tell it is time to renew. Stackable pins only apply to UTNT & T&T plans. If you stack a years worth, you would still think you have to add $10.00 standard pin every 120 days. (Note, I would buy the $10.00 every 115 days)

A PAGE PLUS CELLULAR CUSTOMER SUPPORT REP. TOLD ME THE WRONG INFORMATION AND MY CREDIT BALANCE EXPIRED, WITHIN 24 HOURS I CALLED AND WAS HUNG-UP ON BY 3 DIFFERENT REPESENTATIVES AND 1 MANAGER. SPENT A TOLD OF 1.75 HOURS ON THE PHONE AND THEY REFUSE TO REISSUE THE MONEY, CREDIT THE ACCOUNT, OR REACTIVATE THE PHONE WITHOUT GIVING THEM MORE MONEY.
ALSO THERE COMPUTER SAYS I EXPIRE ON THE 26TH AND WHEN I CALL THEY SAY THE 22ND, THAT IS SETTING ME UP FOR EXPIRATION. ALSO I CALLED THEM 15-20 TIMES IN THE LAST 5 MONTHS AND THEY HAVE NO RECORDS OF IT. SAYING I MUST OF CALLED A DIFFERENT PAGE PLUS CELLULAR.
I’M GOING TO DENIE THE CREDIT CARD CHARGES !

It took PagePlus less than a month to disappoint me. I just hope that I can port my number out of PagePlus without too much problem.

About the Customer Service, I am guessing that most reps are in a difficult situation where they are forced to deal/support a very crappy policies/products. In a different economic climate I don’t think most of those reps will be work for this VP.

Dear PagePlus Rep,
The Economy will turn around and when the jobs come back some of the people coming to pageplus to save money will switch back to more quality providers. There will be lots of good paying jobs for a technical staff with good customer skills. Please be nice to your customers, think of it as mastering your skills for the days you don’t have to work for a crappy boss.
Mr. Yassine and upper management are obviously only see $$$$$$$ and if they don’t care about their customers you can be sure they don’t care about you. Are they really worth the amount of money they are making of your hard work and our hard earned cash.
let’s consider that I (the customer) would never had to deal with pageplus if I had enough money to walk into the AT&T store and pickup a shiny new iPhone or go to Sprint store and get myself a new 4G phone with $69 unlimited plan.
When things get tough the little guys need to stick together more. So I say …..screw you Mr. Yassine and your predatory business strategies.
I speak with my valet and go to a competitor that does not think making money equals not being nice (even if it cost me more).
You Mr./Ms. Customer Rep keep looking for a job elsewhere and when you found one, proudly keep your middle finger up toward the upper management as you are leaving pageplus cellular.

I want to say good-luck but we all have a part on bringing luck around.

Earlier today I had one of the worst encounters with page plus representative I’ve had with any “customer service” representatives. I thought I had a rather simple question but it turned into a nightmare. After reading on this site about people not getting through to a supervisor, I guess I was so insistent (took about 10 minutes of insisting) that “Alexandra” put me through to “Regina,” who, as supervisor, unfortunately was no better at addressing my problem. When I asked for the name of their President (I wanted to address a letter to him about my experience), “Regina,” the supervisor, refused to give his name to me!!! Never had that happen before. When she tried to tell me about how to solve my problem, and I asked that she remain on the line while I stepped through her suggestion to make sure it worked, she refused. When I said, “Let me understand, you are refusing to stay on the line while I test this out?,” she hung up. I’ve only been with Page Plus for a month and a half. I’m looking for alternatives.

I was thinking about going from Straight Talk to page plus because of the phone options, but now im not so sure.

My husband is in the Army National Guard, and when he is away for training, or if another deployment comes up and he has a chance to talk alot, will they disconnect me because of abuse? Last time, ever other week we got to talk for hours because thankfully he went to a nice FOB. But then it would slack off for a week, and then the following week, we could spend an upwards of 6 hours a day on the phone. Convoy Security is awesome on the off time you get (=

Anyway, would that be considered abuse? If my phone got cut off I’m not sure what would happen. this next deployment he may not be able to talk so much, but I know there will be alot of inconsistency of how often I use it from day to day or week to week.

I didn’t use the phone last time to talk to anyone else hardly. Plus im joining and then we will really need reliable service. Should I stay with Straight Talk? They are great other than their phones are pricey and not the best. Plus they don’t roam, and PP does. Should I take the chance?

Wow! Talk about bad customer service! I cant believe some of the stuff written in this article. This is an actual business conducting business like this?! Incredible. I’m so glad that I dont have to deal with any of this stuff. I’ve been a Straight Talk customer now for about a year and I can honestly say Ive experience some of the best customer service ever. You would think because its a prepaid service it would be different, but its the opposite. There’s always willing to help me with any questions, even when its something simple as how I can reset my phone after dropping it in water.

[…] after introduction, but is now back to $39.95. The plan however has met some controversy for not actually being unlimited.More interesting, is the introduction of a new plan, unceremoniously called “The 12″. […]

WOW, I was considering the new Page Plus unlimited talk,text, and data plan but now I think I will pass. My phone and data usage will be very sporadic. When in the city I will not use the plan much but when I am out away from my home phone or pc I will be using the talk and data a lot. Unfortunately this sounds exactly like what their proprietary system would flag as abuse. (They still seem too open-ended about what they call abuse). To throttle back would be one thing, but to drop the service or change the plan…and take peoples hard earned money…

The service works well, considering many people are in areas where Sprint and T-Mobile any any carriers using them suck. Metro PCS is fine if you are in a good area. Verizon or ATT cost quite a bit more, in a comparison.

I pay for minutes at 4 cents a minute, I am using smart phone with the data portion turned off. I can use data, but on the standard plan its cost prohibitive. I use the smart phone in wifi mode just fine.

The website offers complete paying and tracking of calls. If you want a low cost, roll your own, pay as you go plan, on a top network, this is the best option.

Now my online orders dont work. I run out of minutes, log on to buy a plan, and then add the plan to my phone and……. drum roll … no service. This happened two months ago and they waited a week or so to let menknow they’d refund one of the two plans I bought trying to get the phone working so I would have a working phone… no luck… I lost my number…apparently the guy who has my old number is getting a lot of my important calls and is irritated as he can ve at the callers!!!!
Now I have a new number that I’m going to lose AGAIN.. ARGH. I cant do this.

This online chat is ridiculous. I never received any service for this girl other than her reply one moment. I was trying to set up auto payment for my sister’s account, who I am representative for her financial affairs. If you are not going to provide service, take the service down. My name is Blanche Cheeley and I don’t normally care about these things, but working for a wireless company for 14 years, I was very disappointed with the web service. This is suppose to provide you timely service or I thought it was. My number is 336 580-9110 if you even care to call. My sister’s account 336 987-9338 Fran Cooke.

Here is the transcript for No Service:

Chat started on 27 Oct 2012, 02:50 PM

(02:50:18) *** Visitor 50919293 joined the chat ***
(02:50:24) Online Support: Hi there! Noticed you’re new to our site. Our friendly support reps are online, feel free to chat with us if you need assistance.
(02:52:22) Visitor 50919293: What to set up automatic payment beginning 11/27/2012. I just made a payment for November.
(02:53:24) Customer Service: One moment, I will be right with you.
(02:53:29) Visitor 50919293: Can I make sure the payment doesnt begin until 11/27 since I just made one
(02:53:50) *** Jennifer joined the chat ***
(03:01:42) Visitor 50919293: hello
(03:02:22) Jennifer: your phone number.?
(03:02:31) Visitor 50919293: 3369879338
(03:05:34) Jennifer: one moment.
(03:45:50) Visitor 50919293: What is the problem?
(03:49:35) Visitor 50919293: Are you going to help me?
(03:51:05) Visitor 50919293: This is ridiculous to have a service that does not provide service. I will be sending this transcript to the President of the company to let them know how bad this online chat service is. Take it off if you are not going to service.
(03:55:43) *** Blanche Cheeley left the chat ***

I was a loyal page plus customer for 5 months, I am switching to a new company and do not recommend page plus to anyone.

They have a limit on how many records they track. 250 max or 60 days. 250 max only covers the last 250 of your data transfers, calls, or sms. So you can never view 60 days, unless you don’t use your phone for anything close to the standard plans they offer.

When i requested to view my records from the company support, they told me it would cost me to get a copy of my usage report.

They did not rip me off that i am aware of however they could easily hide cramming data with you being blind unless you pay extra just to get a copy of your own records.

The more I look into this, this does not follow the fcc rules on clear and concise records. I don’t see these guys lasting much longer.